This invention pertains to fasteners. More particularly, the invention pertains to a fastener having a deformable portion for absorbing excess drive energy.
Fasteners, such as nails, have been produced for hundreds of years. Round nails are presently the most common type of nail and are the easiest type of nail to manufacture, because of their symmetrical shape. Moreover, round nails exhibit relatively predictable, uniform properties, when driven into a substrate, such as wood.
Many of today's fastening (nailing) applications, in particular in the construction industry, use powered or fastener driving tools, also referred to as nailers or nail guns. These tools can be pneumatic driven, combustion driven, electric or the like. In a typical tool, a reciprocating drive blade is brought into contact with the fastener head, separates the fastener from a fastener strip, and drives the fastener out of the tool and into the substrate.
In use, fasteners are driven into different types and thicknesses of material (substrates). A typical application is the nailing of two pieces of wood (lumber) to one another. The lumber can be relatively soft (such as spruce, pine or fir), or relatively hard, such as oak, ash or the like. Moreover, some applications require the use of a joining member, such as a metal joist hanger or plate, through which the fastener must also be driven.
When using a joining member, there is little margin for over driving (over travel) of the nail. Accordingly, the depth of drive must be precisely adjusted to prevent the tool and specifically the drive blade from experiencing an excessive shock when the fastener head abruptly stops on a hard, non-compliant metal surface. Moreover, this precise adjustment is even more impractical in that different, and even similar woods have varying hardnesses and densities, contain imperfections, natural inconsistencies (such as knots), dimples, dents and the like.
Accordingly, there is a need for a fastener that absorbs excess drive energy. Desirably, such a fastener can be used in a conventional fastener drive tool. More desirably, such a fastener absorbs a wide range of excess energy without structural damage to the fastener, the tool or the substrate.